


Consider me/ as one who loved poetry/ and persimmons

by Cerberusia



Category: Bleach
Genre: Haiku, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-15
Updated: 2019-10-28
Packaged: 2020-12-16 22:43:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21044015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cerberusia/pseuds/Cerberusia
Summary: On a withered branchA crow is perched -Autumn evening(Basho)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kisuru](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kisuru/gifts).

Ichimaru-fukutaichou's promotion to Ichimaru-taichou was only to be expected. He had been an exemplary lieutenant, so everybody said (and Kira listened to what everybody said about Ichimaru Gin) after being promoted from third seat, and he was such an obvious natural prodigy that when the Captaincy of the Third Division fell vacant around the same time as that of the Sixth, everybody knew that he was a candidate. Ichimaru had no intimates aside from his own captain, who wasn't a gossip, so word could hardly have got round from him; but nevertheless, everybody knew.

The investiture took place in the customary hall, in the customary fashion. Ichimaru exchanged his lieutenant's armband for a captain's coat, and afterwards Kira saw him with Captain Aizen strolling along the bay that bordered one of the fashionable districts of West Rukongai, both of them wearing their uniform garb. Ichimaru looked very smart in his new sleeveless captain's coat.

The image was so arresting that as soon as he got home he wrote a poem about it.

紅葉や  
隊長の羽織  
船出する

He was very proud of it, and was even thinking of submitting it to a magazine, until he realised that the syllable count was wrong.

The next question was of whom Ichimaru might pick as his lieutenant. He might keep the current incumbent out of sheer convenience - indeed, this was popular opinion, as Ichimaru's aforementioned lack of intimates meant he had nobody to recommend for the position - but Kira was quite sure he wouldn't.

"You spend too much time thinking about that guy," was Renji's opinion. This was probably true. It didn't stop Kira's idle thoughts turning to the new Captain of the Third.

"He saved our lives," he protested instead, for form's sake. "It's only natural to be curious."

What Renji said to _that_ was unprintable.

Kira would forever insist that he wasn't _snooping_ round the barracks of the Third Division when its new captain found him - or, rather, he found the captain. He was simply walking past it one autumn in early evening, on the way to the Fourth for medical supplies (and to catch up with some old acquaintances there), and - well, no, he didn't have a good excuse for why he'd gone into the grounds of the Third. He preferred to skim over that bit and imply that he had caught sight of Captain Ichimaru from the main path.

In fact, something had drawn him from that road, down the little unpaved path that led into the Third Division's small gardens at the back of their barracks, which were enclosed by trees to lend privacy and a sound-dampening effect. He had hesitated on his way - he ought not to be late - he was not expected at a specific time - he shouldn't snoop around another division - it was only curiosity - but in the end, his feet simply led him away from the main road and through the little clump of ginkgo trees, gone golden with autumn colours.

When he emerged, it was to find Captain Ichimaru's gaze fixed right on him.

And it really was fixed. Kira had caught the faintest glimpse of the opening of Ichimaru's slitted eyes before, during their close brush with those Hollows during Academy training, but to be the object of that full, clear gaze was paralysing. He had somehow remembered Captain Ichimaru's eyes as a bestial yellow, something like those of a fox or a snake: but in fact they were a piercing icy blue. Kira was shocked to realise that Ichimaru, without the wide grin deforming his face, was handsome.

The eyes disappeared, and the grin grew once more. Kira felt as if somebody had lowered their sword from pointing at his chest.

"Na, Kira Izuru~" Ichimaru crooned, and the hairs on Kira's arms stood up. "Come for a visit?"

Of course Ichimaru knew his name: until recently, they had been in the same division. But his tone...

"Yes, Captain Ichimaru," Kira forced his tongue to say. "Ah, are you planning to plant persimmons here?" It was only an educated guess: Lieutenant Ichimaru had had a persimmon put in outside the headquarters of the Fifth, so he could enjoy its fruit each autumn. Kira found dried persimmon sickly sweet and unpleasant, but much the same was often said about Ichimaru. Maybe both were an acquired taste.

But Ichimaru grinned even wider and seemed to brighten.

"Perceptive of you, Izuru-kun!" Nobody called Kira by his first name, not even Hinamori or Renji (whom he still very properly called Abarai). "Yes, a few persimmon trees would be just the thing for this place." Ichimaru-taichou was saying those perfectly ordinary words, but there was something behind them, like a double entendre Kira didn't recognise. But then, Ichimaru-taichou always sounded like he was saying one thing and meaning another.

Kira said something non-committal, like 'I see', or 'Is that so?' He couldn't think. He really ought to apologise for the intrusion and leave, but he couldn't find the right expression. Ichimaru's eyes were closed, but Kira could still feel that piercing gaze, and he knew Ichimaru's attention was entirely on him, like a physical weight.

"You needn't look so worried, Izuru-kun," Ichimaru murmured. He seemed to have got closer, though Kira hadn't seen him move. "I'm not your lieutenant any more - can't set you to scrubbing floors if you're rude! I'd have to ask Captain Aizen to punish you instead." There was a funny tone to the word 'punish' that went through Kira and struck something in his body. He became aware that he was sweating. He grasped, desperately, at the conversational lifeline:

"Ah, as for a lieutenant..." He'd meant it as an enquiry into how Ichimaru was finding the change in rank - though it wasn't as if Ichimaru hadn't bossed them all about as a lieutenant, so he was certainly in practice - but Ichimaru correctly divined, or perhaps just guessed, what was really on his mind, because he replied:

"Yes, yes, shame about Konoda, isn't it? To get requested for urgent transfer to the Fourth. Say, Izuru-kun, didn't you spend some time there?"

"I did," Kira agreed, his mind whirling. "I - I hadn't known about Konoda's transfer, Captain Ichimaru." Urgent transfer to the Fourth Division? They were always short of willing hands, it was true...

"Oh, I suppose word hasn't got round yet. It was _very_ urgent." Ichimaru negligently waved a pale long-fingered hand. "So I'm down a lieutenant! Captain Aizen and I have a bet on how long it'll be before the clematises start beating down my door."

'Clematis' was Seireitei slang for any Soul Reaper seeking advancement - a climber, in other words. And it was true that to be Second Seat in the Third Division would be an excellent promotion and enviable position for many. But in all the gossip about Ichimaru's new position and the potential for a shake-up of the Third, there had been a constrained atmosphere: lots of people saying _Yes, Ichimaru is just the type to start turfing out the old and it would be great to get a seat in the Third, but..._ And what they all meant and all understood, without it having to be said, was _But you'd have to work under Ichimaru, and that guy creeps me out._ They were keener in the Fifth, where most of them were used to Ichimaru's ways by now, but not by much.

"Lieutenant of the Third Division would be a very desirable position," Kira agreed, studiedly neutral. His heart was pounding in his chest, though there was no reason for him to be so anxious. The pleasant gardens seemed to have narrowed to Captain Ichimaru's smile.

"Right, right," Ichimaru agreed, nodding. "So, you can bring your things over to the barracks by this evening, right?"

"I - What? I'm sorry - Captain Ichimaru?" Coherent speech had fled along with coherent thought. "I'm to be transferred to the Third Division?" Nobody had told Kira that, and Captain Aizen wasn't the type to send him off without speaking to him. Had he somehow upset the Captain? He thought he was a competent Seventh Seat in the Fifth, but perhaps Captain Aizen had been dissatisfied with his performance, and was packing him off to an unseated position in the Third?

"Izuru-kun, weren't you listening? You did say Lieutenancy of the Third would be a very desirable position."

Things fell, at last, into place. Kira's ears buzzed.

"Th-thank you," he croaked, heart still in his throat. "I'm very-" He cleared his throat. "I'm deeply honoured, Captain Ichimaru!"

Captain Ichimaru was just cruel enough, in Kira's experience, that this would have been the perfect time for him to say _Oh no, Izuru-kun, I'm afraid you've quite misunderstood. I was hoping for your thoughts on asking for Abarai Renji as my new lieutenant..._ But he just kept smiling.

"Of course you are," said Captain Ichimaru. "It's a great honour, so I'm told." There was that mocking edge to his voice again, as if he was telling a joke that Kira didn't get and wasn't supposed to.

"Y-yes, Captain Ichimaru." Still overcome, Kira stared at his new captain's wide grin, open just wide enough for a glint of teeth. _On a withered branch..._ Yes, that was exactly it: he had met Basho's crow this autumn evening, perching on his withered branch.


	2. Chapter 2

The barracks of the Third Division were no more sinister than any others, even after dark. Nevertheless, their denizens tried not to stay out past their admittedly generous curfew: like the fox he resembled, Captain Ichimaru was active at night.

Kira had drunk with Renji tonight - moderately, though at one point Hinamori told him he'd gone quite a remarkable shade of pink. He hoped the alcohol-flush was gone, though doubtless Captain Ichimaru would be able to smell it on him. And what of it? It wasn't improper to go drinking with his friends from the Academy, who were themselves recent beneficiaries of promotion to Lieutenant.

The autumn night was chilly, and contrary to what was said about alcohol keeping you warm, Kira had only ever found that it made him colder. He pulled his padded coat more tightly around himself and thought that the season had definitely begun to turn. Soon he'd be quoting the Basho lines about snow that Hinamori especially liked.

The lights of the main road trailed off as one turned into the grounds of the Third Division. Kira had suggested some lamps, but Captain Ichimaru preferred to leave the area unlit: it gave people, he said with his customary wide smile, a false sense of security. It was true that on nights with no moon, the grounds were pitch-black - _what use hawk-eyes?_ indeed. Kira picked his way very carefully through the courtyard.

There was a light on in Captain Ichimaru's rooms. _How does my neighbour live?_

Kira hesitated. He shouldn't bother the Captain.

"Mm, just in time, Izuru." He jumped about two feet in the air. It was the Captain, of course - what was that saying about how thinking of the Devil summons him?

"Captain!" He saluted smartly. He knew he was blushing. To think he was just imagining barging in on Captain Ichimaru in his study! He could barely keep his composure around his commander as it was.

"I'm sure you had a nice evening, hm. Won't you come with me for a minute? We've hardly had the chance to talk since I made you my lieutenant." It was that very specific phrasing that made the back of Kira's neck tingle. The way Ichimaru said it, it didn't just denote a senior-junior relationship: it implied a sense of ownership.

"Of course, Captain Ichimaru." He could hardly say anything else.

Captain Ichimaru had not filled his study with personal effects, as some captains did. In fact, the room was completely barren of personal touches. Ichimaru caught Kira looking round and said, with an exaggerated moue,

"Maa, it's not much like the old guy had it, is it? You'll have to advise me on what sort of calligraphy to put up - in fact, I should have you pick something. I'm sure you know about that kind of thing, Mr. Poetry-Club-Secretary."

Kira knew he was blushing again. There was nothing at all embarrassing about his having helped run the Academy's literary magazine, nor in his now being involved in one of the Soul Society periodicals dedicated to poetry; but Captain Ichimaru said the words with an insinuating leer, like it implied something about Kira's character beyond appropriate noble refinement.

Little was known about Captain Ichimaru's background, except that he had turned up at the Academy with Matsumoto Rangiku, both of them still only children, thin and ragged, and demanded to be trained as a Shinigami. It was said that the incredible amount of reiatsu rolling off him persuaded the teachers on the spot. There were old photographs, if one knew where to look (or, in Renji's words, were 'obsessed enough'), of Ichimaru Gin's class at the Academy through their years of training - though, in Ichimaru Gin's case, only one. These were supplemented with official formal photographs taken each year of each division. Kira had pored over the pictures, tracking the evolution of the young Ichimaru: from pre-teen to teenager to the stage of development most were in when they had _entered_ the Academy, by which time he already held a seated position in the Fifth Division. There were photos in which he seemed to have grown an inch in the intervening fortnight; and perhaps he had. In all the pictures his eyes were closed, though in the early ones he smiled less.

Whatever had happened before his entry to the Academy, it seemed unlikely to have equipped him with much knowledge of poetry. The Academy itself required a class in literature in one's first year, which Kira had found blissfully easy. It had been the class that cemented his friendship with Renji and Hinamori, mostly for the reason that they had formed a little study group for it - which was more like Kira acting as instructor.

"If you think it best," Kira demurred. It thrilled him a little to have Captain Ichimaru defer to his expertise in poetry - the only area in which he could claim mastery over his captain. He might as well enjoy it - Captain Ichimaru didn't strike him as the kind of commanding officer who often asked his subordinates' genuine opinions.

"You already know, don't you? What you'd pick." Captain Ichimaru had gone to the desk to pick up what Kira had not previously noticed: a tea tray with two cups and steam coming from the teapot's spout. The back of Kira's neck prickled again.

"Dogen," Kira confessed. "Perhaps...

_Coming, going_

_The waterfowl leaves no trace_

_Nor does it need a guide._"

Captain Ichimaru made approving noises as he poured the tea.

"Knew you'd have a good one," he said warmly, though not without his usual mocking undertone. "This is what I keep you for, ah, Izuru? I always liked the one about the scarecrow."

"How unaware, how useful," Kira provided. "Yes, that's one of my favourites of Dogen's too." It was about non-attachment, of course, like the rest of Dogen's Zen output. But Captain Ichimaru's regard for it lent it a slightly sinister edge: as if one ought not to be like the scarecrow, useful to the universe; but look upon it and its lack of awareness as useful to oneself.

Perhaps it was cruel of him to think so, even in the privacy of his own mind: Captain Ichimaru was surely no more insensible to poetry or unaware of Zen than the average layman. There were untold depths to Ichimaru Gin, and that was clearly how the man himself preferred it. Nevertheless, Kira was inclined to think those depths were filled less with the _sweet song of non-attachment_ and more with sharks and anglerfish.

He really oughtn't think of his captain this way. But then, he also probably oughtn't be noticing that Captain Ichimaru's shihakusho had loosened a little over the course of the day to reveal a sliver of his white chest. There was nothing exciting about it, Kira reminded himself, taking the steaming teacup Captain Ichimaru offered him, and trying not to flinch when Ichimaru's long, cold, bony fingers overlapped briefly with his. He'd had fantasies about those long-fingered hands that alcohol was now dredging up from the murky depths. They were just the sort of hands that would wrap beautifully around somebody's neck.

Captain Ichimaru was still smiling, still watching him behind those closed eyes. Kira half-expected a bushy tail to pop out from under his shikuhasho any moment. He briefly imagined Captain Ichimaru with big fluffy silver fox ears to complement it, and had to swallow a hysterical giggle in his teacup. Oh dear, he really shouldn't be talking with the Captain while he was only half-sober.

They were very close together, as Captain Ichimaru had chosen to sit corner-wise to him instead of across the low table on which the tea tray now rested. It was all having a slightly embarrassing effect on Kira, who was finding it hard not to notice just how inviting his Captain's bony shoulder suddenly looked under his severe black clothes. Kira had rarely seen Captain Ichimaru wear anything else, though he did own an attractive grey and blue yukata that Kira had seen him in once during the summer. Some people had been carrying masks, and Ichimaru had been one of them - a fox, of course. The mask had been white with red, and the crimson paint around the muzzle had looked like blood dripping from the animal's jowls.

"Tired, Izuru?" Captain Ichimaru really was _very_ close. If Kira leaned in a little closer, he would surely be able to smell him.

And you, Kira, probably smell like sake, he reminded himself sternly.

"Mm, yes, Captain." He did want to go to bed, now Captain Ichimaru mentioned it. Back to his own good-sized room in the barracks, where he'd already arranged things to his liking. There was his bed, his books, his little altar to his parents - he had brought it with him, now he returned so rarely to the house in which he had grown up.

"Oh, am I keeping you up past your bedtime?" A low chuckle. Kira smiled, embarrassed. Captain Ichimaru must definitely be able to tell that he'd been drinking. He really did wish the Captain would let him excuse himself to bed, though. He was tired, and the intimacy of the dark and the tea was making him imagine things between himself and his Captain that were surely only his own flights of fancy intruding upon the waking world.

Captain Ichimaru's touch on his cheek was just as cool as Kira had imagined it would be. Captain Ichimaru's eyes were just as icy blue as he remembered them from their meeting in the gardens of the Third Division, when Captain Ichimaru had announced that he was taking Kira as his lieutenant. Would the pale lips be as cool as Captain Ichimaru's pale fingers?

"Time for beddy-byes~" Captain Ichimaru's eyes were closed; Kira wasn't sure he had even opened them. His hand was on Kira's elbow, pulling him up effortlessly from the zaisu chair. The room seemed very dark, lit only by a few flickering candles, though it had seemed bright enough when Captain Ichimaru had led him in here.

Captain Ichimaru was now towing him from the room with that firm grip on his arm. Kira was pulled along like a buoy after a speedboat, bobbing as his indoor slippers slid over the smooth floor in the captain's wake.

"Goodnight, Izuru-kun." Captain Ichimaru was very close again, close enough that Kira thought he smelled green pine, quite wrong for the season.

And then he was gone, leaving Kira standing before his own door, half-drunk, half-tired, nerves alight with confusion and desire, and the creeping suspicion that he was in way over his head. But _still alive, this autumn evening._

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Shiki. Kira's (that is to say, my) rather dodgy haiku runs thus:
> 
> kouyou ya  
taichou no haori  
funade suru
> 
> Autumn colours -  
The Captain's haori  
Putting out to sea
> 
> 'funade' is a pun - it means both 'putting out to sea' and more generally 'setting out on a new endeavour'. Kira was so proud of himself until he scanned 'taichou' again.
> 
> All other haiku references are either Dogen or Basho.


End file.
